"How do you spell, 'after'?" prompts Kelsey Dick, head program facilitator with a summer camp offered by the Learning Disabilities Association of Niagara Region.

The pair are sitting in a classroom at Assumption Elementary School. While other kids are gathered in the centre of the class to craft paper bag princesses, eight-year-old Luca Hladysh-Dosa gets some one-on-one time with Dick. Eventually, she will give each of the kids help with their literacy skills.

"Use your sound-out strategies," she offers.

Luca pauses a few seconds, then starts carving the word into the sand. A-f-t-r.

Dick prompts him to think about the ending. He pauses a moment. Sweeps his hand over the word. Then prints it again in the sand - a-f-t-e-r.

After that, he spells the same word with pen on lined paper. Then with brush strokes of multi-coloured paint on paper.

It's not that kids with learning disabilities can't learn. It's just that they learn in different ways, says Ashley Short, executive director of the association.

Kids with learning disabilities are not developmentally disabled. In fact, they have average to above-average intelligence, says Short.

The problem is with their processing.

The learning disability causes a noticeable difference between their potential and their actual achievement.

Simply put, potential is high, but achievement is low, says Short.

Typically, they do better with hands-on learning, she says.

So, getting them to print words with paint, carve them into sand or shape those waxy, sticky yarn pieces called Wikki Stix into letters, helps them learn.

Plus, it's fun. So, they're more motivated to do it, she says.

Add to that the fact that all kids forget some of what they've learned at school over the summer.

"Kids with learning disabilities fall even further behind," she says.

They need repetition. As in every day. "They need to be exposed to it over and over again," she says.

Otherwise, come September when they return to school, "they start off behind," she says.

The summer S.L.A.M. program - Sunshine Learning Achievement and More! - is an equal mix of academic and recreation. Academic focuses on literacy - phonics, sight words and fluency with some number skills.

Recreational activities give the kids a break from the academics, but also teach them social skills like sharing, turn taking and relating to others' body language and facial expression.

About half of all kids with learning disabilities will also have ADHD. And many struggle with social skills.

Luca came to the Learning Disabilities Association last year, and in the fall will participate in Reading Rocks, a one-on-one literacy program, says his dad, Nick Dosa.

A year ago, he had trouble reading and if he encountered a word he didn't recognize, he'd get frustrated.

"He'd just shut down and wouldn't want to do it," says Nick.

The programs have given him strategies, confidence and together the father-son team set goals. After Luca reads a book, he can do something he enjoys, like rollerblade or skateboard.

"When he gets really frustrated, we stop and take a break," says Nick.

After a few minutes, he returns and is able to focus again.

The summer program is run in partnership with the YMCA, and funded by The Branscombe Family Foundation, Niagara Community Foundation and Canadian Tire Jumpstart.

It runs seven weeks over the summer.

Kids don't need to be diagnosed with a learning disability, only be significantly behind in their literacy skills.

"If they're falling behind, don't wait to see if they'll grow out of it," says Short.

A true learning disability will be with them forever.

"The gap widens as they get older," she says.

Without support, a learning disability can chip away at self-confidence, trigger anxiety and behaviour problems and make the child vulnerable to teasing, says Short.

Kids aren't typically diagnosed before Grade 3. But if parents suspect a problem, Short suggests visiting the association as early as age four to tap into some of the programs.

Her best advice is exposure. Read to your kids, she says. Every day. At least 15 minutes.

"It's not rocket science and it doesn't have to be five hours a night," she says.

But also remember that literacy doesn't just happen in a book.

It's all around us.

In the car, use the down time to ask your kids what sound letters of the alphabet make. In the grocery story, when your child says, "Mom, I want this cereal box," ask them, "What does it say?"

For more information on the Learning Disabilities Association of Niagara Region and its programs visit www.ldaniagara.org or call 905-641-1021.

cclock@stcatharinesstandard.ca

WHAT: S.L.A.M. Sunshine Learning Achievement and More, a summer program by the Learning Disabilities Association of Niagara Region for children ages six to 12. Learning Disability/ADHD diagnosis not required.